FUNCHAL, Madeira, Portugal

General Info

Country: The Autonomous Region of Madeira, Portugal | Language: Portuguese | Currency: EURO (EUR) | Flag: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flagge_Madeiras | When visited: December 2022 & December 2024

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🚗 How to commute

There are 3 ways to move around the island as well as to reach the Funchal city center from the international airport: to hire a car, to get a taxi or to go by public transport, i.e. by bus. To get from the airport to the city center, port or big hotels use the Aerobus #500 (in Dec. 2024 a one way ride was 6,20 EUR). Public transport – buses – is the most budget and truly convenient way to move around the island. You can check timetables at the nearest bus stop or in advance online: Siga Rodoeste.

🏨 Where to stay

Both times we have been staying at the same hotel chain – “Dorisol” – they have 3 hotels – Mimosa, Estrelicia and Buganvilia – which all share facilities, and are located just one to another a bit away from the city center, and pretty close to the ocean in a nice and calm district São Martinho. These hotels are a bit worn-out though clean, convenient and have amazing facilities including a rooftop with a view over the Funchal city, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, sauna, tennis court, gym, spa and a lot of areas to chill. The only disadvantage is that they are situated on a hill, and it's a bit hard to go back and forth many times a day, but at the same time it's healthy, and they provide free buggy service from the 1st building to the other too located higher :) We truly enjoyed our stay there (especially the cool rooftop, the opportunity to play tennis and use indoor swimming pool with jacuzzi). The only thing we didn't like there is breakfast, which had 100% the same menu every day and was not that tasty. We could definitely eat better for the same price in some local cafés or at Pingo Doce supermarkets and their canteens.

🍽️ What and where to eat

If you have an apartment and can cook/eat there, you can go to one of local supermarkets (Pingo Doce or Continente) and have an affordable though still high quality ready-made food (like grilled chicken with rice) or fresh ingredients (fish, seafood, vegetable etc.) to cook. In many Pingo Doce supermarkets they also have canteen with great and inexpensive food as well as deserts and coffee. It's totally worth to try for budget and tasty meals. Otherwise, you'll have order something with Glovo (mostly fast food like Taco Bell, which we did order) or to go to one of the local cafés or restaurants for breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. Prices are almost the same in various places, but quality may vary. Few tips: – Make sure to check some special lunch and dinner menus, available in many places. – Try to avoid the restaurant in any touristic area: prices are higher and quality is lower there :( There are sooo many options, where to eat, and we have been to many places, but unfortunately took no photos. So, below we will list just few good options: -PVP: Pão, Vinho e Petiscos affordable restaurant serving traditional Portuguese dishes and Madeira wine.

-Restaurante O Dragoeiro prices are a bit higher here, but they have a daily lunch menu with fixed prices and great variety of dishes like fish of the day, squids etc.

-Kanji Sushi Funchal try all-you-can-eat buffet: fish is so fresh there, and you can reorder the rolls, makis etc. you liked as many times as you wish!

-Allora Restaurante or Xaramba which serve yummy pasta as well as pizza and other Italian dishes.

-For super tasty and fresh pastry and cakes you can check either A Confeitaria (they have multiple cafés in various locations for example nos.barreiros or na.avenida) or Patisserie Novos Sabores.

👀 What to do and what to see

• Go to swim at one of public volcanic beaches either in the city (like Praia do Lido Poente and Praia do Almirante Reis) or just outside like Paia Formosa, which all you can reach by bus.

• Walk around the city and enjoy a beautiful architecture and nature. If you are visiting Madeira in December, go to the city in the evening to enjoy colorful illuminations and holiday spirit on multiple Christmas markets.

• Go hiking to one of Viewpoints (Miradouro) or Levada routes. Levadas are old aqueduct systems crossing the whole island: some of the are located just in the Funchal city, others are reachable with by bus or by car.

• Walk along the ocean – there are beautiful Promenades like central city Promenade Avenida do Mar, Promenade do Lido or Promenade de Câmara de Lobos.

• Have a 1-2 days trip to one of the major cities on the island or to the neighbor Porto Santo island. You can go with public transport (buses is the most affordable option) or with an excursion to Porto Moniz, Câmara de Lobos, Ribeira Brava, Ponta do Sol, Santa, Machico and other fascinating cities on the island. Some options like Câmara de Lobos are also possible with Hop-on Hop-off bus. Of course if you rent a car you can check the whole island just in few days :)

• Go for dolphin/whale watching and also enjoy the scenic costal line.

The other things to do in Funchal include: – shopping and eating at the Mercado dos Lavradores,

• going with Funchal Cable Car (Teleférico Funchal-Monte) to Madeira Botanical Garden (Jardim Botânico da Madeira),
• checking local museums including the most famous one – CR7 Museum (spotlighting the famous footballer Christiano Ronaldo),
• go to dive, snorkel or for a boat trip during the sunset and much more!

💡 Some highlights

• Try fresh seafood (octopus a lagareiro and baby squids) and fish (fish of the day) as well as local fruits (oranges, papaya, bananas, passion fruits, monstera deliciosa fruit etc.) – it's just so tasty here!
• And make sure to buy and drink a fresh orange juice in Pingo Doce – it's super cheap, and incredibly tasty!
• The weather is just perfectly warm and comfortable in November-December: you can swim and take sun baths, although it could be rainy some days.
• Beyond the summer period Madeira is pretty inexpensive and provides a great price/quality ratio.
• People are friendly, open and in most cases speak English.